In October 2019, Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre visited institutions in Washington, D.C. and New York to introduce the work of the Centre and broaden its network in the United States (US). Apart from institution-to-institution level cooperation, Dr. Gomez also invited collaborations with the Centre on its 4 year project on Freedom of Expressions in Southeast Asia (SEA). During the US visit, Dr.Gomez presented findings from its International Conference on Fake News and Elections in Asia and promoted the 2020 conference on Hate Speech in Asia: Challenges and Solutions. This trip saw Asia Centre engaging with universities, policy…

The role of journalists in reporting on the scale of inequality came to the fore during the panel discussion convened on 8 November 2019 for the Thailand launch event of the Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award, organised by Asia Centre and Oxfam in Asia. The event brought together 35 participants from the media, academia and civil society to discuss the challenges of reporting on inequality. The objective of Asia Centre and Oxfam in Asia’s partnership in organising the Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award is to promote strong journalism and acknowledge the hard work of journalists who have persisted…

Asia Centre presented its research on disinformation in Southeast Asia at the Executive Committee Meeting of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) in Taipei, from 18 to 23 October 2019. During the EXCOM meeting, the Centre’s Dr. Robin Ramcharan, also discussed future collaboration with CALD and its affiliated members. Created in 1993, CALD is a platform for dialogue and cooperation between liberal and democratic political parties in Asia.The Centre was invited to share its analysis on Fake News legislations in Southeast Asia, which has a considerable negative impact on democracy and elections in the region. The key point…

Asia Centre has built good relations with Bangkok-based diplomatic missions by attending embassy functions, meeting with embassy officials and hosting discussions with ambassadors. These embassy engagements are part of the Centre’s efforts to seek connections to overseas partners and broaden its global network. The bulk of engagements with diplomatic missions usually occur when Asia Centre’s representatives attend independence or national day celebrations organised by the embassies. In 2019, Asia Centre received an increased number of invites to embassy functions.  On 10 Oct 2019, Dr. James Gomez and Johnny Hoang Nguyen attended the 108th National Day of the Republic of China…

 Since 2017, Asia Centre has been actively advocating for solutions to the Rohingya refugee crisis. Drs. James Gomez and Robin Ramcharan, as Asia Centre’s resource speakers have spoken at numerous international conferences particularly in 2018. While Dr. Gomez has been the lead Asia Centre spokesperson in responding to the media on developments that emerge related to the Rohingya refugee crisis. To take stock of the situation, one year after the 2017 mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence and persecution by the Myanmar Government and military, the Asia Centre convened a one day conference titled “The Rohingya Crisis: A Multidimensional Tragedy”, on…

Japan needs to recalibrate and reevaluate its engagement with Southeast Asia (SEA) in view of China’s ascendency and the United States’ (US) uncertain engagement with the region. As Japan navigates competition from China and other rising powers, the influence of its economy will diminish. The question therefore, is how should Japan frame its foreign policy towards Southeast Asia in this new context. Policy experience, soft power project, people-to-people dimension or values based diplomacy on principles of democracy and human rights are non-economic dimensions that are likely to feature more as its foreign tools.  The debate over a non-economic approach emerged…

On 27 September 2019, Asia Centre signed an MOU with the Faculty of Law, Thammasat University. Dean, Faculty of Law, Munin Pongsapan and Asia Centre’s Executive Director Dr. Robin Ramcharan inked the agreement to cement their co-convening of Asia Centre’s 5th International conference on Hate Speech in Asia: Challenges and Solutions 8-10 July 2020. The MOU signing, witnessed by Asia Centre’s advisor Dr. Andrew Harding, builds on the Centre’s working relationship with the Faculty of Law since the last 2 years. For instance, on 30 October 2017, the Centre hosted the Faculty of Law’s students and Professor Thitirat Thipsamritkul at…

In 2019 Asia Centre undertook a series of meetings and interactions in Bangkok, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Taipei, Taiwan to strengthen its relationship with Taiwanese institutions. The 2019 meetings built on Asia Centre’s initial December 2018 collaborative visit to Taipei, Taiwan. Engagement with Taiwanese institutions is expected to continue in 2020.On 18 December 2019, Asia Centre’s Dr. James Gomez and Yawee Butrkrawee met with Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) Malaysia’s Head of Mission, Anne Hung and Director, General Affairs Division, Chichia Chen. Dr. Gomez introduced Asia Centre and its plans to establish operations in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.Earlier on…

Asia Centre is often approached by different media outlets such as television news channels, radio stations and online news portals to either comment on current political issues or submit op-eds on human rights issues for publication. As Regional Director, Dr James Gomez is Asia Centre’s main spokesperson and takes the lead in speaking to the media, from time-to-time the Centre’s other representatives also speak to the media on their areas of expertise.Asia Centre media engagement has dealt with issues related to security concerns on the South China Sea, the Rohingya refugee crisis and political developments in Thailand and Singapore. In…

Asia Centre co-hosted The ASEAN Community Leadership & Partnership Forum on 23th till 24th of June 2019 at Park Hyatt Bangkok. The event was held in conjunction with the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok and was convened by Kingsley Strategic Institute together with other co-hosts Nation Building Institute, Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, the ASEAN Studies Centre and the Asia Centre. As co-host Asia Centre was responsible for inviting 50 participants from civil society, NGOs and academia which broadened the nature of interventions and networking opportunities during the event. Among those who attended included international organisation representatives from Amnesty…